Vernon County, Wisconsin - Chapter 2: Topography and Geology, 1884

Chapter 2: Topography and Geology

Having given the general physical aspects of the county so that a correct idea can be formed of the surface features as a whole, we now give the physical geography and surface geology of each congressional township, beginning with township 13, of range 1 east, (town of Greenwood). In these descriptions will be noticed, briefly, the principal characteristics of each township in the county, with reference to its general features, its water sheds, streams, springs, prairies, forests, soils and subsoils, clays and underlying formations.

Township 13, range 1 east, (Greenwood). - The water shed or dividing ridge between Pine river and the Baraboo, passes through the township in a northwesterly direction, from sections 36 to 18. This causes considerable high, rolling land. The remainder of the township is very hilly and rough. It is heavily timbered with maple, elm and basswood. The soil is a clay loam. The formations are Potsdam and Lower Magnesian; the former occupying two-thirds of the township. A small one of St. Peter's sandstone exists in the north half of section 21.

Township 14, range 1 east, (Hillsborough) - This township is well watered by numerous branches of the Baraboo river, and contains many tine springs. The country is rolling, but the hills are not so high or so steep as in Greenwood, and the valleys are quite wide. 1 lie country is well settled. The timber is chiefly white oak, and confined to the ridges. The formations are Potsdam and Lower Magnesian; the latter is found only on high ridges, and its area does not exceed one-seventh of the whole.

Township 13, range 1 west, (Union). - The divide between the Kickapoo and Pine rivers runs irregularly through the township in a southwest direction from section 2 to section 32. It is generally narrow, and much cut up with ravines. The soil is clay with a subsoil of stifl: red clay, containing many flints, and often eight or ten feet deep. The valleys are wide. The soil is sometimes sandy and sometimes a black and svpampy clay. The township is very iieavily timbered with maple, elm and basswood. Good springs are numerous; a very large one is on the southwest quarter of section 2. The formations are Potsdam and ]>ower Magneslan; the area of which is about equal.

TowxsHip 14, range 1 west (Forest). - The divide between the Kickapoo and Pine rivers runs nearly north and south from section .35 to section 1. It is much wider and better adapted for farming than in township 13 (town of Union), and is about all under cultivation, producing heavy crops of wheat and oats. The principal streams are Varner and Billings creeks. Their valleys are often half a mile wide, with a rich black soil. The valleys are heavily timbered, chiefly with maple. The Potsdam sandstone covers about one-third of the country, and the Lower Magnesian the rest.

Township 13, range 2 west (Stark). - Tiiis township is very rough, hilly, and heavily timbered. It is watered by the Kickapoo, Otter, Hear, Jug and Weister creeks and their tributaries. The Potsdam covers about two-thirds and the Lower Magnesian one-third of the township.

Township 14, range 2 west (Whitestown). - The principal stream is the Kickapoo. T]\e best land is on the ridges on the western side of the township. The soil is clay, somewhat sandy in the valleys. The timber is maple, elm and basswood, with occasional white oak groves on the ridges. The formations are tlie same as township 18, just mentioned.

North half of Township 11, range 3 west, (Kickapoo, in part). - The eastern and central parts of this township, only the north half of which is in Vernon county, consists of high, wide, rolling ridges ; and the western part of steep, rocky bluffs. The township is watered by the Kickapoo river on the west and north. Fine springs are very numerous. The valley of the Kickapoo averages about a mile in width.

The soil throughout the township is clay, and the timber very heavy. The Potsdam covers about one-third of the township, the Lower Magnesian one-half, and the St. Peters onesixth. Many loose boulders of St. Peters are found on the ridges, where the formation can not be found in place. The general character of the formation in this township, fromtheridge to the Kickapoo, is as follows:

Township 12, range 3 west, (Liberty and part of Kickapoo). - This township is very hilly, being cut up by the Kickapoo, west fork of the Kickapoo, east fork of the same and the Harrison and Bishop branches. The intervening- ridges are very high and steep. The west fork of the Kickapoo forms a dividing line as regards the timber. Ou the east side of the stream the timber is very dense, consisting of maple, elm and basswood; but in the country on the west side, the timber is thin and small, and consists chiefly of oak groves on the ridges. It is a very striking feature of the country. The formations are the Potsdam and Lower Magnesian, and about equally divided.

Township 13, range 3 west (Webster). - The general features of this township are similar to those of- township 12, same range. It is well timbered and watered. Clay beds are frequently met with in the valleys in the Potsdam, on the surface of which the water comes out in springs for long distances. There is a good deal of handsome scenery on the west fork of the Kickapoo. The formations are the same as in township 12, same range.

Township 14, range 3 west (Clinton). - The ridge dividing the Kickapoo from the west fork runs from section 34 to section 3, making considerable good farming land in the center of the township; in otber parts the land is very broken, with steep hills and ravines. The soil is clay

North Half of Township 11. range 4 west, (parts of Franklin and Kiekapoo). - This township is composed chiefly of high, rolling, ridge land, witli a cla}' soil. In the central part of the town the soil is rather sandy, owing to a long belt of St. Peters, which crosses the township from section 4, to section 34. The limber consists of groves of large white oak. The formations are : Potsdam, one-sixth. Lower Magnesian, two-thirds, and St. Peters sand-tone, one-sixth.

Township 12, range 4 west, ( parts of Franklin and Viroqua). - The divide between the Kiekapoo and the Mississippi passes through the township from section 30 to section 5. The land is high and rolling, and covered witli groves of small timber, chiefly black and white oak. It is well watered by numerous small streams and is tine farming land. The soil is a sand clay. There are numerous mounds of St. Peters on the ridges. Small sink holes are also quite frequent. Formations : St. Peters and Lower Magnesian in nearly equal parts.

Township 13, range 4 west, (Viroqua). - The divide continues from section 32 to section 5. The greater part of the township is high, rolling prairie, well watered by numerous small streams and springs. The soil is clay. The timber is rather thin and small, consisting chiefly of black oak. The country resembles that of the lead region. The formations are the same as in township 12, same range.

'i'owNSHiP 14, range 4 west, ( Christiana ). - The topographical features of this township greatly resemble those of township 13, same range. The divide continues from section 3") to section 1, and is very high, wide and level. The soil is a deep clay, owing to the absence of any sandstone formation. The timber is a small second growth of black oak, and is chiefly confined to the ravines. It is very diflicult to obtain water on the ridge, as it lies from

North Half op Township 11, range 5 west, (parts of Franklin and Sterling). - Thin is chiefly a prairie country, the divide is high, extending from section 35, in Crawford county, to section 1, in the town of Franklin. 'I here are no large streams in the township, but numerous small streams running east and west from the divide. Small springs are quite numerous. The formations are St. Peters and Lower Magnesian, in about equal parts.

Township 12, range 5 west, ( parts of Jefferson, Sterling and Franklin). - The townshi]) is very hilly and broken, watered by the branches of the Bad Ax river. The valleys average about a quarter of a mile in width. The ridges are wide ; soil is clay ; timber, small oak. The formations are Potsdam, Lower Magnesian and St. Peters.

Township 13, range 5 west, (Jefferson). - The township is well watered by two branches of the Bad Ax river, flowing in the central and northern parts. The southern and eastern paits are a fine prairie country; the northern, central, and western parts, are heavily timbered, with maple, elm, oak, etc. This timber is confined to the higher parts of the ridges, that about the streams being comparatively small and sparse. The formations are the same as in township 12, same range.

Township 14, range 5 west, (Coon). - The country in this township is chiefly rolling ridge land, but broken by numerous streams and small ravines. It is well watered by the several branches of Coon creek. The valleys of the two principal branches are from onehalf to one mile wide, with a rich loamy soil and sandy subsoil. Towards the head of the streams and on the ridges, the soil is clay and the timber large white oak. The formations are Potsdam, Lower Magnesian and St. Peters ; the second being the principal one.

consists chiefly of high, rolling, ridge land, having an elevation from 400 to 550 feet above the Mississippi. The principal ridge is very wide and runs east and west through the northern part of the township, with numerous small ridges running north and south. The soil is clay, in some parts rather sandy ; tiie timber small but abundant. Water is very scarce on the ridges. The formations are Potsdam, Lower Magnesian and St. Peters ; the two latter predominating.

Township 12, range 6 west (parts of Sterling, Wheatland, Genoa and Harmony). - The principal stream is tlie Bad Ax river, which, with its numerous small tributaries and springs, supplies the township abundantly with water. The valley averages about half a mile in width, with a rich. loamy soil and sandy sub-soil. The timber in the valleys is small and scattering black oak. The ridges are wide and rolling; soil, clay ; and timber, large white oak. Ihe formations are the same as in township 11, same range.

Township 13, range 0 west (Harmony) - There are two high, rolling ridges in this town, each about a mile in width, running in an east and west course ; one in the northern and the other in the southern part of the township. The soil on each is clay, 'i'he timber on the southern ridge is small and scattering black oak ; on the northern ridge, it consists of groves of large white oak. The northeast quarter of the township is especially heavily timbered. Water ii very scarce in the vicinity of the ridges. There is but one stream, the north fork of the Bad Ax, which runs westerly through the center of the township. Its valley is about half a mile wide ; soil rather sandy. The formation is Lower Magnesian, with the exception of a narrow strip of Potsdam in the valley of the Bad Ax.

Township 14, range 6 west (Hamburg) - The general topographical features of this township are about the same as in township 13, same range, consisting of high, broken ridges, and one principal stream. The soil on the ridges is clay ; the timber is white oak and black oak. The valley of Coon creek varies from a half mile to a mile in width. The soil is a rich loam, with sandy sub-soil. There are numerous small hills and benches of alluvium in the valley, the materials of which appear to have been derived from the hills above during the progress of denudation, and have since been partially cut away by the changes in the stream, so that exposures are frequently seen as much as fifty feet thick, of irregularly stratified clay and sand. About one-third of the township is covered with Potsdam and the remainder with Lower Magnesian.

jNorth fkactional half of township 11, range 7 west (part of Wheatland) - This township, like all of townships of the same number, lies in both Crawford and Vernon counties, and is made fractional by the Mississippi. Only its north half lies in Vernon. As a township, it is hilly, and the best land lies on a high and narrow ridge in the eastern part of the township, which is parallel to the river, and about 500 feet above it. The river runs close to the bluffs, which are- high and precipitous. The soil is clay and the timber white oak. The formations are Potsdam, Lower Magnesian and St. Peters, the second being the prevailing one.

Fbactional Township 12, range 7 west (part of Genoa). - This, like township II, same range, is a fractional one. It is well watered by the Mississippi and Bad Ax rivers and their small tributaries. About the larger streams there is a great deal of low, flat, swampy land. The soil is clay throughout the town, and the timber chiefly small oak. The valley of the Bad Ax frequently contains very large and thick beds of alluvium. The ridges lie about 500 feet above the river, and form a rolling prairie country, with small groves of oak. All the formations from the 'I'rwuton to the Potsdam inclusive are present. The Trenton consists of a small outlier in the southeast part of the township. Th« general sections of this

Fractional Township 13, range T west, (part of Genoa and Bergen). - There are about twenty-four square miles contained in this township, of which the greater part is hilly and broken. The ridge dividing Coon creek and the Bad Ax river passes northeasterly through the township. It is much cut up with ravines and has but little timber. The soil is clay. The formation is chiefly lower magnesian.

Fkactional Township 14, range 7 west, (Bergen). - The western half of this township ties in the immediate valley of the Mississippi, and is an alluvial bottom, consisting of swamps, hay-meadows and timbered islands. The eastern half comprises the valleys of Coon creek and Chipmunk "coolie," each about a mile wide, and the intervening ridge. The soil is clay on the ridges; and more sandy in the valleys. The timber is small and confined to the ridges. The formations are Potsdam and Lower Magnesian, in about equal quantities.

Geological Formation

Potsdam Sandstone. - On the southwest quarter of section 18, township 11, range 3 west, in the town of Kickapoo, this county, is one of the finest exposures of Potsdam sandstone in all this section of country. The remarkable alterations of thin beds of sandstone and Magnesian limestone, near the top of the Potsdam, have not their counterpart in all this part of the State.

The productions of the Potsdam, which are of importance in an economical point of view, are iron, building stone and mineral waters. Iron is found in Vernon county, where it usually occurs as a hematite. It is found on the northeast quarter of section 10, in township 11, range 3 west, in the town of Kickapoo; on the northwest quarter of section S, in tO" nship 14, range 3 west, in the town of Clinton; also on the northeast quarter of section 20, and the southeast quarter of section!", in the same town; and some very good specimens of hematite have been found on the southwest quarter of section 3, in that town. The same may be said of the corners of sections 15, 16, 21 and 2-2. This mineral has also been found on the northwest quarter of section 21, in township 13, range 3 west, in the town of Webster.

Loicer Magnesian Limestone. - (}n the southeast quarter of section 14, in township 1 , range 3 west, in the town of Kickapoo, the junction of the St. Peters and Lower Magnesian is clearly marked by a bed of soft, yellowish while clay, about four feet thick. This clay resembles the pipe clay of the Trenton limestone, found in the lead region, south of the Wisconsin. At De Soto, on the Mi.ssissippi river, the Lower Magnesian limestone affords a fine, close-grained and durable Imilding stone. It is of a very light color, and often nearly white. In the village of Springville, in the town of Jefferson, and along the banks of the stream a short distance below the village, the Lower Magnesian presents good outcrops. It occurs in beds from one to four feet thick, of a light yellow color, free from flints, and makes a very handsome building stone. Along Coon river, in the town of Hamburg, there are numerous good exposures of the lower beds of the formation. There are many other exposures in the county, but the foregoing are among the best. In general, they may be found on all streams.

No very extensive or valuable deposits of metallic ore are found in the Lower Magnesian formation, in the southwestern part of Wisconsin. A few localities of copper and lead exist, which shows that the formation is not entirely destitute of metallic contents. Economically considered, this formation is most useful in af- fording good building stone and lime, both of which articles are abundant in all parts of the country where the Lower Magnesian limestone becomes the surface rock.

The only localities where copper has been found ill Vernon county, are in the towns of Webster and Clinton, one in each, wliere only a single specimen has been discovered; but building stone and lime are obtained in many localities.

St. Peters Sandstone. - In this county the St. Peters sandstone becomes tlie surface rock in many localities. At the village of Coon Prairie, section 5, in township 13, range 4 west, in tlie town of Viroqua, on the ridge dividing the Kickapoo from tlie Mississippi, this formation foims the surface rock. A spur of it also extends in a northwesterly direction as far as section 22, township 1-i-, range 5 west (the town of Coon), .'orming a belt averaging a mile and a half in width. Proceeding south from Coon Prairie village to Viioqua, the sandstone covers nearly all of the western half of township 13, range 4 west (town of Viroqua), and presents a number of fine exposures:

3. A ridge consisting of ledges of sandstone fifty feet high, extending from near the center of section 17, nearly to the northwest corner of section 18, presenting good exposures through almost the entire distance.

At Viroqua, a branch of the main ridge extends to the west, a distance of twelve miles, between the north and south forks of the Bad Ax river. The sandstone on this ridge averages a mile and a quarter in width, with several small lateral branches. Continuing along the principal divide from Viroqua to the south line of township 12, range 4 west (town of Franklin),

In township 1 ], range 4 west (town of Franklin), a s|)ur of the principal divide, covered with sandstone from half a mile to two miles in width, occupies the central part of the townsliip, extending from section 4, in Vernon county, to section 34, in Crawford county.

In township 11, i-ange 5 west, in Vernon and Crawford counties, the sandstone on the principle divide covers the greater part of the township, with a fine exposure in two mounds near the center of section 5, (town of Sterling), Vernon county. From the northeast corner of this township (town of Sterling), a high and very irregular ridge, with numerous lateral branches, extends west nearly to the Mississippi river, dividing Rush creek in Crawford county, from the south fork of the Bad Ax, in Vernon county. This ridge is covered with sandstone, the width of the belt varying from one to three miles. There are two good exposures formed by mounds; one a short distance south of the center of section 16, township 1 1, range 6 west (southwest section of Sterling), and the other in the southeast quarter of the same section.

1. In townshipl2, range 5 west, (townships of Jefferson, Sterling and Franklin), on sections 15, 16,21 and 22 there is an area equal to a section and a half.

2. In township 14, range 4 west, (Christiana), on sections 20, 21, 28 and 29 is a sandstone area equal to a little more than half a square mile; also, west of the quarter post of sections 34 and 3, on the south line of the township is an isolated mound of sandstone forming a good exposure.

3. On section 3, township 13, range 7 west, (town of Bergen), an area of sandstone extends into section 34, comprising about half a section.

sandstone lying on the ridge west of tlie Kickapoo river. It is situated on sections 1, 2, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 in Vernon county, and on sections 24, 25, 28, 3-3, 35 and 36 in Crawford county, comprising an area of about tive sections.

5. In township 12, range 3 west, (town of Liberty), on the ridge between tlie Kickapoo river and its western branch, is a narrow ridge of sandstone, about four miles long and a half a mile wide, running through sections 2, 3, 10, II, 13 and 14, and ending on sections 34 and 35 in township 13, range 3 west, (town of Webster).

6. In township 14, range 3 west, (town of Clinton), on the ridge just mentioned, is an area of sandstone lying on sections 15, 16, 21, 22, 27 and 2S, and covering a surface equal to one section.

1. In township 11, range 5 west, (town of Franklin), on sections 14 and 15; and sections 21, 22, 23, 26, 27 and 35 in Crawford county; and on the divide between the Mississippi and Kickapoo river.s.

2. On the same divide and on sections 15, 16 and 21, of township 12, range 4 west, (town of Franklin), is an area equal to about tiiree-qiiarters of a section. This is the most northerly point to which tlie Trenton formation has been traced in this part of the State.

3. In township II, range 6 west, (town of Sterling), on section 1 is an area equal to half a section. There is also on section 10 an area equal to a quarter section. Tliese last two areas are situated on the high ridge which se]iarates the Bad Ax river from Rush creek in Crawford county.